Julia Roberts Goad
Staff Writer
NAUGATUCK — Tug Valley High School principal Johnny Branch met with concerned members of the community to get an update on the construction of a bridge that will connect US 52 to the school and its new athletic complex.
Randy Keathley, Mingo Board of Education Superintendent, Delegate Justin Marcum and others met with Chris Begley and Jason Foster with the West Virginia Department of Highways and Ted Shriver with Williamson Shriver Architects at the High School.
“We just want to make sure everyone is on the same page,” Keathley said. “We had a public community meeting last year, and have had several coordination meetings since then.”
The bridge that was the focus of the meeting will stretch over Pigeon Creek from just past the intersection of Rt. 52 and Rt. 65 at Naugatuck.
The property on the highway side of the creek was purchased by the DOH, and the bridge project is currently going through last stage paperwork, Begley said, and then the work will go out to bid.
“We foresee the bridge construction to last for two construction seasons,” he said. “Sometimes, if the winter is mild, you can work through it. If weather permits, we will do that, but we can’t rely on it.”
Plans for construction include using the bridge that currently serves the school as well as a span where the new bridge will be built, so that there will be two routes to and from the building.
The total cost of the new bridge will be roughly $2.5 million, which will be paid by the DOH.
The athletic complex will house a baseball field, a softball field, a football field with a golf area.
Once the bridge is completed, Principal Branch said the Tug Valley Foundation will begin raising money for the athletic complex.
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